Funcrusher Plus
| Funcrusher Plus | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Company Flow | ||||
| Released | July 22, 1997 | |||
| Recorded |
1995–1997 (Corners: 1994) Ozone Studios, NYC No Mystery Studios, NYC | |||
| Genre | Experimental hip hop, underground hip hop, political hip hop | |||
| Length | 73:52 | |||
| Label |
Rawkus Records RWK 1134 (first pressing) Rawkus/Priority/EMI Records 0499 2 50063 2 2 P2-50063 (second pressing) Rawkus/MCA/Universal Records 112 898 (third pressing) Definitive Jux DJX177 (fourth pressing) | |||
| Producer | El-P, Mr. Len, Bigg Jus | |||
| Company Flow chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Funcrusher Plus | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [1] |
| City Pages | (favorable)[2] |
| CMJ New Music Monthly | (favorable)[3] |
| Los Angeles Times | [4] |
| Pitchfork Media | (9.0/10)[5] |
| PopMatters |  [6] |
| The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [7] |
| Spin | [8] |
| Stereogum | (favorable)[9] |
Funcrusher Plus is the first studio album by American hip hop group Company Flow.[10] It was released on Rawkus Records in 1997.[11] In 2009, it was re-released on Definitive Jux.[6] The album has been recognized as "a landmark independent hip-hop release".[12]
Critical reception
AllMusic gave the album a perfect 5 star rating, and writer Steve Huey stated: "[Funcrusher Plus] demands intense concentration, but also rewards it, and its advancement of hip-hop as an art form is still being felt. It's difficult, challenging music, to be sure, and it's equally far ahead of its time."[1] Jon Dolan of City Pages noted "[Company Flow's] evincing a confrontational critique of 'those signed, big-budget muthafuckas' like none hip hop has attempted since EPMD's Strictly Business."[2]
Andrew Hultkrans of Spin gave the album 8 stars out of 10, commenting that "[the album] deconstructed hip-hop conventions and rebuilt them into a spare, murky, sputtering soundscape."[8] Jeff Weiss of Los Angeles Times felt that "El-P conjured an apocalyptic minimalism -- the sublimated sound of clanging and cluttered train cars, city grime buried beneath cuticles, and the ghostly smoke of burning blunts."[4]
Nate Patrin of Pitchfork Media said: "With the exception of the nocturnal crystalline funk of the Bigg Jus-produced 'Lune TNS' and the frequent scratch contributions from secret weapon DJ Mr. Len, Funcrusher Plus' beats bear the mark of El-P's dusty-but-digital aesthetic, which even back then had the same sort of beautiful-dystopia Blade Runner feel that informed Cannibal Ox's The Cold Vein and his own Fantastic Damage a few years later."[5]
Brian Coleman of CMJ New Music Monthly called it "the most important release of 1997 thus far."[3] Joseph Schafer of Stereogum said, "Funcrusher Plus made for a hell of an opening salvo, and most emcee/producers would envy having such a record in their discography, but El mostly improved upon his work here later."[9]
On October 4, 2011, "Lune TNS" was chosen by NJ.com as the Song of the Day.[12]
In 2003, Funcrusher Plus ranked at number 84 on Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Albums of the 1990s list.[13] In 2014, Complex listed the album at number 86 on the 90 Best Rap Albums of the 90s.[11] In 2015, it was chosen by Fact as number 4 on the 100 Best Indie Hip-Hop Records of All Time.[14]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bad Touch Example" | Bigg Jus, El-P | El-P | 3:26 |
| 2. | "8 Steps to Perfection" | Bigg Jus, El-P | El-P | 4:43 |
| 3. | "Collude/Intrude" | El-P, J-Treds | El-P | 5:25 |
| 4. | "Blind" | Bigg Jus, El-P | El-P | 3:42 |
| 5. | "Silence" | Bigg Jus | El-P | 3:33 |
| 6. | "Legends" | El-P | El-P | 4:02 |
| 7. | "Help Wanted" | El-P | 2:13 | |
| 8. | "Population Control" | El-P, Bigg Jus, R.A. the Rugged Man | El-P | 4:26 |
| 9. | "Lune TNS" | Bigg Jus | Bigg Jus | 3:39 |
| 10. | "Definitive" | El-P | El-P | 5:47 |
| 11. | "Lencorcism" | Mr. Len | 0:36 | |
| 12. | "89.9 Detrimental" | El-P | El-P | 1:03 |
| 13. | "Vital Nerve" | El-P, BMS | El-P | 5:01 |
| 14. | "Tragedy of War (in III Parts)" | Bigg Jus, El-P | El-P | 3:49 |
| 15. | "The Fire in Which You Burn" | Breezly Brewin, J-Treds, El-P, Bigg Jus | El-P | 5:02 |
| 16. | "Krazy Kings" | Bigg Jus | El-P | 4:52 |
| 17. | "Last Good Sleep" | El-P | Mr. Len, El-P | 5:59 |
| 18. | "Info Kill II" | Bigg Jus, El-P | El-P | 3:48 |
| 19. | "Funcrush Scratch" | Mr. Len | 2:48 |
Personnel
- El-P – producer, lead vocals, mixing
- Bigg Jus – producer, lead vocals
- Mr. Len – producer, scratching
- J-Treds – vocals
- BMS – vocals
- Breezly Brewin – vocals
- Vassos – recording, engineering, mixing
- Jeff Cordero – recording, engineering, mixing
- Walker Bernard – recording, engineering
- Chris Athens – mastering
Singles chart positions
| Year | Song | Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "Blind" | 44[15] |
References
- 1 2 Huey, Steve. "Company Flow - Funcrusher Plus". AllMusic. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- 1 2 Dolan, Jon (November 26, 1997). "Company Flow: Funcrusher Plus". City Pages. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- 1 2 Coleman, Brian (September 1997). "Hip-Hop". CMJ New Music Monthly: 51.
- 1 2 Weiss, Jeff. "Company Flow - "Funcrusher Plus" (reissue) - Definitive Jux". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- 1 2 Patrin, Nate (May 15, 2009). "Company Flow: Funcrusher Plus". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- 1 2 Newmark, Mike (September 13, 2009). "Company Flow: Funcrusher Plus". PopMatters. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ↑ N., N. (2004). "Company Flow". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. p. 187, 188.
- 1 2 Hultkrans, Andrew (May 2009). "Reissues: Diggin' in the Crates for Untold Treasures". Spin: 95.
- 1 2 Schafer, Joseph (January 29, 2014). "El-P Albums From Worst To Best - Company Flow - Funcrusher Plus (1997)". Stereogum. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ↑ Johnson, Fatima (January 7, 2013). "Respect. Your Elders: Company Flow". Respect. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- 1 2 Bengston, Russ (April 24, 2014). "The 90 Best Rap Albums of the '90s - 86. Company Flow, Funcrusher Plus (1997)". Complex. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- 1 2 McCall, Tris (October 4, 2011). "Song of the Day: 'Lune TNS,' Company Flow". NJ.com. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ↑ Linhardt, Alex (November 17, 2003). "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s (2/8)". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ↑ "The 100 best indie hip-hop records of all time (98/101)". Fact. February 25, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ↑ "Company Flow - Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
External links
- Funcrusher Plus at Discogs (list of releases)